This guide covers History of Daylight Saving Time | TimeFlow — what it means, how it works, and how to use it. The explanations below are followed by worked examples with real dates and real times, a set of frequently asked questions, and links to the tools that do the calculation for you: the time zone converter, the world clock, and the UTC converter. Where a number is given — an offset, a date, a count — it is computed from the IANA Time Zone Database for the date stated, not copied from a table that may be out of date.

Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between any two cities, with the daylight saving rules for the date you choose.

The idea of shifting the clocks is older than the light bulb's popularity. Benjamin Franklin joked about it in 1784, writing that Parisians could save candles by rising with the Sun. But the serious proposal came from William Willett, a London builder, who published 'The Waste of Daylight' in 1907 after noticing how much summer morning daylight was lost while the city slept.

The first country to adopt it was Germany, on 30 April 1916, in the middle of the First World War, to save coal. Britain followed on 21 May 1916, and the United States in 1918. After the war, most countries dropped it — Britain kept it, the US abandoned it until the Second World War, when it returned as 'War Time'.

The modern pattern took shape in the 1970s, when the oil crisis made energy saving urgent again. The United States standardised its dates in 1987 and extended them in 2007, moving the start to the second Sunday of March. Europe harmonised its dates in 1981, and the EU now changes on the last Sunday of March and October.

The trend today is the opposite. Russia abolished the change in 2014, Türkiye in 2016, Brazil in 2019, Mexico in 2022, Jordan in 2022. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end the twice-yearly change, but member states have not agreed on whether to stay permanently on summer or winter time, so the change continues. The history of daylight saving is a history of a good idea that keeps getting questioned — and, slowly, abandoned.

In practice

The first adoption was a wartime measure, and the pattern has repeated ever since: daylight saving is adopted in a crisis and kept because people get used to it. Germany adopted it in 1916 to save coal, Britain followed weeks later, and the United States adopted it in 1918. After the war, most countries dropped it — and then brought it back in the next crisis, the Second World War, and again in the 1970s oil crisis.

The United States has changed its dates more than once. The modern pattern — second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November — dates from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which took effect in 2007 and extended daylight saving by about a month. The change was controversial at the time: airlines, broadcasters and software companies had to rewrite their schedules, and the extra weeks of daylight saving remain debated.

Europe's story is different. The European Union harmonised the change in 1981, and in 2019 the European Parliament voted to end the twice-yearly change altogether — but member states have not agreed on whether to stay permanently on summer time or winter time, so the change continues. The history of daylight saving is a history of a good idea that keeps being questioned, and slowly abandoned: Russia in 2014, Türkiye in 2016, Brazil in 2019, Mexico and Jordan in 2022.

The numbers: daylight saving in 2026

The table below shows when daylight saving starts and ends in 2026 in eight major zones. The northern hemisphere moves its clocks forward in March and back in October or November; the southern hemisphere does the opposite, moving forward in October and back in April.

Time zone Daylight saving starts 2026 Daylight saving ends 2026
New York Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026
London Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Paris Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Berlin Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Sydney Sunday, 4 October 2026 Sunday, 5 April 2026
Auckland Sunday, 27 September 2026 Sunday, 5 April 2026
Toronto Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026
Chicago Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026

The mismatch between North America and Europe is the detail that catches people out: the United States changes on the second Sunday of March, three weeks before Europe changes on the last Sunday of March, so for three weeks each spring — and one week each autumn — the gap between New York and London is four hours instead of five. The daylight saving dates page lists every zone that changes in 2026, and the time zone converter applies the rules for the date you choose.

The same eight zones in 2027:

Time zone Daylight saving starts 2027 Daylight saving ends 2027
New York Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027
London Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Paris Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Berlin Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Sydney Sunday, 3 October 2027 Sunday, 4 April 2027
Auckland Sunday, 26 September 2027 Sunday, 4 April 2027
Toronto Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027
Chicago Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027

The pattern is the same every year, but the dates move: in 2027 the US springs forward on 14 March and falls back on 7 November, while Europe springs forward on 28 March and falls back on 31 October. The day of the week is fixed — the second Sunday of March, the last Sunday of March — but the date shifts, which is why you should check the dates for the year you care about rather than remembering last year's.

Key facts

  • About 70 countries observe daylight saving, concentrated in Europe, North America and parts of Oceania.
  • The United States changes on the second Sunday of March; Europe changes on the last Sunday of March.
  • Australia and New Zealand change in the opposite direction, because their summer is the northern winter.
  • Russia, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan and Morocco have all abolished daylight saving in the last twelve years.
  • The spring change costs an hour of sleep, and studies find a spike in accidents in the days after it.

Frequently asked questions

When was daylight saving first used?

Germany adopted it on 30 April 1916, during the First World War, to save coal. Britain followed on 21 May 1916, and the United States in 1918.

Who first proposed it?

Benjamin Franklin joked about it in 1784, and William Willett proposed it seriously in his 1907 pamphlet 'The Waste of Daylight'.

When did the US standardise its dates?

The modern pattern — second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November — dates from the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which took effect in 2007.

Has the EU voted to end daylight saving?

Yes — the European Parliament voted in 2019 to end the twice-yearly change, but member states have not agreed on whether to stay permanently on summer or winter time, so the change continues.

Which countries abolished it recently?

Russia in 2014, Türkiye in 2016, Brazil in 2019, Mexico in 2022 and Jordan in 2022.

When does daylight saving start in 2027?

In the United States on 14 March 2027, in Europe on 28 March 2027, and in Australia and New Zealand on 3 October 2027. The daylight saving dates page lists every zone that changes.

What is the time difference between London and Tokyo?

Nine hours in January 2026: London is UTC+00:00 and Tokyo is UTC+09:00. In July it is eight hours, because London moves to UTC+01:00 while Tokyo stays on UTC+09:00. The time zone converter gives the difference for any two cities and any date.

Related pages

Sources

  • IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (Intl.DateTimeFormat with timeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory.
  • TimeFlow's own time-zone data (data/cities.ts, data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database.
  • Time zone rules and offsets: the IANA Time Zone Database, as applied by this site's tools. Offsets and daylight saving dates on this page are computed from the database for the dates stated.
  • TimeFlow's time zone converter, world clock and UTC converter — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
  • Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.